I chose this photo of Pope Benedict XVI from 2008 to head Mary Jo McConohay’s insightful commentary and analysis, “La Sorpresa: The Papal Resignation, in the Latin American Eye.”
Is Latin America the future of the Roman Catholic Church, or will the home to liberation theology be relegated to the sidelines when the next pope is chosen?
“Half of the cardinals who will vote are from Europe, but only a quarter of Catholics live there. Whoever is elected, dramatic church changes do not appear imminent.”
~Trent Gilliss
Romero Inspires “An Unlikely Range of People”
Colleen Scheck, senior producer
“Let no one be offended because we use the divine words read at our mass to shed light on the social, political and economic situation of our people.”
These are the opening lines of the last sermon given by Archbishop Oscar Romero before his assassination 30 years ago today. This past weekend over 10,000 Catholics participated in a commemorative procession in San Salvador.
(photo: Jose Cabezas/AFP/Getty Images)
In this two-part BBC documentary, Central American correspondent Julian Miglierini reports on the complex legacy of Romero that today “inspires an unlikely range of people from devout grandmothers to secular hip-hop artists.”
(photo: Kristine Pommert)
This image of villagers standing under a mural of Romero is one of a handful captured by Miglierini’s producer during their reporting. The man and woman standing third and fourth from the right, now adults, are the children in the mural, adapted from an iconic photograph taken when the Archbishop visited Los Sitios Arriba.
